Surrounded by Idiots
by Ananimous
Summary: Clover is chosen to represent district 11. There's one problem. She refuses talk. How will she provide the drama needed to survive? First fanfiction any criticisms are excepted
1. It begins

Disclaimer: I don't own _The Hunger Games_. If I did Rue would've won and Prim would still be alive.

The reapings scared everyone. We never knew who would be picked, but maybe that was the point. They wanted us to be scared. Wanted to prove that they still had power. Its because of their sick minds that I refuse to speak. How can anyone have the will to talk after they've watched the grin on some tributes faces as they plunged their spear into a person who is their age. How they relished the felling of blood splattering on their skin. How they waited their whole lives to see fear flash in the eyes of their opponents... I shuddered, this earned me stares from my peers. We were standing in a circle roped in like cattle.  
>"And the female tribute from district 11 is Clover!" the female from the capital shouted. My heart thudded in my chest.<br>"Does she have a last name?" the lady turned and asked the Mayor.  
>"No," he said "she's the one I told you about."<br>"Oh,Common up Clover!" the lady said cheerfully, "Don't be shy."  
>I saw the looks my classmates gave me as I broke free of the circle. They didn't think that I'd make it.<br>_Well thank you for your confidence in me,_I thought.  
>The rest of the day past uneventfully. No one came to visit me. No one said goodbye to me or wished me good luck. No one cared. I heard the boy tribute in the room next to mine try to reassure his weeping parents. He told them that he'd come home. Didn't he realize that I could hear him? That for his wish to come home meant my death?<p>

After a few hours the Mayor came into my room, said something but I wasn't paying attention to him, shook my hand and pushed me onto the train. The boy was next to me but I chose to ignore him. After all he wanted me to die so his parents could see his face again.  
>I turned to go to my rooms when his hand shot out and grabbed my elbow. I glared at him. Sheepishly he showed me a note pad with the word<br>Hi  
>Written on it in pencil. I angrily took the note pad and pencil from him and wrote<br>I'm not deaf you know.  
>"Sorry," he looked at his suddenly interesting shoes. I glared at him and stormed off when he called out, "Clover! wait!"<br>What?  
>"Why won't you talk?"<br>Stay out of my business  
>And with that I stormed off. This time he didn't try to stop me. I wouldn't have turned around if he had.<p>

A/n

So this is my first fanfic. So flames will be tolerated but all fires will be put out. I wrote this with no idea of other characters so if you have any OCS that will work well with Clover please put their info in response and I'll try to fit them in.

things I would like in OC suggestions

name

district

appearance

characteristics

weapon

death scene ideas(only if they're in the games)

any other tidbits of information

Please review. I really don't know what's going to happen yet(also this eliminates the possibility of me creating a terrible character).


	2. Chapter 2 Midnight on the train

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games. If I did Rue would have won and Prim would still be alive.

The beds on the train were really uncomfortable. I couldn't go to sleep. I looked at the clock. It was around midnight. I groaned. This wasn't possible! I had to be in bed for at least four hours. It had only been one hour. I put on pants over the nightgown that I found in the dresser and stepped out into the corridor. I didn't know where to go so I let my feet lead me where they wanted me to go. I just thought about the slim possibility that I'd ever return to the slums that I called home. The possibility was about zero. Even if I made it through this "game" I'd be forced to live in a fancy house.

"Hey Clover, don't run me off this train," the boy said. He held out the notepad and pencil and he looked like he wanted me to apologize.

I'm not going to apologize. If that's what you're waiting for

"I'm not."

Why are you talking to me? Take a hint

"Ouch. Clover do you even know my name?"

No, whats it to you? You're planning on slaughtering me, for other peoples amusement

"No, I'm not." I glared at him. I hoped he was lying but it was obvious that he wasn't. "I'd hoped that I wouldn't ever meet you in the arena."

Can you even defend yourself?

"Actually, I can." I looked at his arms. They were big. Massive even. It seemed like he did a lot of harvesting. "Can you? I've never seen you out in the fields."

Yes, I haven't been in the fields because I'm helping in the herb garden, and in the orchards

"Well that makes sense. Wait did you say the herb garden? No one works there, you have to be hand picked. How did you land that job?"

Just because I'm short and I don't talk doesn't mean that I'm useless

I looked ahead of me out of the train and into the passing fields. I tried to freeze the sight into my memory. I wanted to remember my home. I felt tears prick at the corner of my eye. I turned on my heels and left a very confused boy behind me.

A/N I've had a thought that the boy's name should be Hawthorn Rye. If there is any objections review now otherwise the name is sticking.

My offer from before still stands so please review and submit your OCS for the story. Please review. It tells me if you actually like my story.

Oh, and a special thanks to katniss'gale for reviewing. I also want to thank heyitskaita. She edits my chapters and does a really good job of helping out. Love you D!

-Ananimous


	3. Chapter 3 Quiet before the storm

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games. If I did Rue would have won and Prim would still be alive.

Chapter Three

Knock! Knock! I wake up and go to the door. A serving girl comes in. She has brown hair which covers her eyes. She holds out a pile of neatly folded cloths. There's a white shirt on top. Its plain, but has long sleeves and a tie in the front. Underneath the shirt is a pair of brown pants. They were also nothing special. The girl left without a word. I took a shower and got dressed. Breakfast was in the Dinning car. There was so much food here like there was last night.

"Good morning!" said the boy. He sat down next to me, but I made the point of scooting my chair away from his.

"Clover! Don't be so rude to Hawthorn." our mentor screeched as she came in. Our District hasn't won the games in a long enough time that we had a mentor so the Capital provided one for us. There's a reason that tributes from District 11 never made it through the games. I glared at Hawthorn and moved my hands like I was writing on a notepad. He reached into his pocket and produced the notepad and pencil. I had forget that I left them there on the edge of the train. He handed them to me.

Your name is Hawthorn? Well it fits.

He gave a an odd look. "Why?"

"Alright children, the only way you can make it through this is if you answer all of my questions, so we can create a strategy. Also you need to be liked by the people." She looked at me before continuing. "Clover are you good with any weapons?"

No way am I telling you!

"But," she looked lost, "you need to. Otherwise you'll die." She glared at me again but I kept staring at her eyes and smirked. "Hawthorn what about you?"

"I want to know why Clover wont tell you," he said.

What if we're the last two people left? I don't want you to know what I can do. Besides, she could be a spy. She doesn't need to know what I'm good at.

"You have some major trust issues." Hawthorn said. Our mentor was seething. It tuned out Hawthorn trying to get the mentors advice on the different ways to survive. Just then I noticed that our servers hadn't said a word the entire meal.

Why aren't they talking?

The mentor looked pleased, mistaking my question to be an apology. "Oh them?" she gestured to the people dressed like the girl in my room standing along the wall, "they're criminals." She waved one of them forward. She said something to him and he opened his mouth showing a stub of a tongue. The man looked at me with pity glistening in his eyes. I knew how he felt, we were kindred spirits, We understood the pain of never talking, how our throats cracked and dried every day. It was painful. We nodded and he stepped back into line. The train whistle blew and Our mentor screeched, "We are here!"

A/N

I'd like to thank heyitskaita for the idea of hawthorn's name. My offer still stands for your own OCS to be added into the story. Please review!

-ananimous


	4. Chapter 4 Who knew getting clean could t

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games. If I did Rue would have won and Prim would still be alive.

Thoughts are Italicized

It was lighter outside then in the train which unfortunately didn't me a chance to look at my surroundings. They ushered us quickly from our trains to the building. The brightness and hurry of our entire departure gave me the impression of being kidnapped, because I couldn't see I could have been blindfolded and it wouldn't have mattered. Once inside I immediately looked around. The ceiling was extremely high, and there weren't any windows. I was shoved into an elevator and was lifted into the shaft. Once the elevator stopped I was pushed into a white room with a wooden chair in the middle. Surrounding it was a vanity mirror and make-up supplies, a sink with a raiser and bar of soap, then there was another sink except this one was clearly made for washing hair.

"Ahhhhh! She's so adorable!" squealed a voice as hands dragged me to the chair. I looked at the speaker and saw a woman covered in different shades of pink. Her hair was fuchsia, her skin was a rose like color. She was wearing a pink jumper. _How stereotypical. _The woman stated to circle me like an eagle. She stopped in front and smiled.

Three Hours later

I've never been stuffed with as many products as I was now. I'd been scrubbed until I'd lost at least four layers of skin and that was only my body. At the time that I was considered ready my designer stepped into the room. He was a tall gangly man who was too old to be in this business. He didn't say a word but held up a dress of green silk. He k nodded to the pink lady and she helped me out of the white nightgown that I was put into temporarily. Then I put the silk dress on and had my face painted a tan, brownish color.

"You're a field nymph, act happy and joyful but also refined and this will help you." he said and then left the room. _You're so helpful_ I thought sarcasticly.

"Common, darling time to go down to the horses." the pink lady said happily.

The horses were paired in teams. Our team was a brown pair with white stars on their foreheads. The carriage was painted to depict a forest scene. The trees looked like they would stretch their leaves out and grab me and drag me away from the bloody death that awaited me.

"Get in its almost our turn." whispered Hawthorn. I hadn't even noticed him come and stand next to me. I hopped into the carriage and Hawthorn followed me. We left the building and drove between a screaming thong of people. I plastered a smile onto my face and waved at children. The people kept up their cheer so I guess that we played our roles well. The parade ended and I stepped wearily off the carriage.

A/N I'm sorry that I haven't added a chapter in a while. I'll try to post consistently every Sunday from now on and if I can't then please wait patiently until the next week. Once again I'm terribly sorry.

Thank you ReadyMadePhotographer for being the first to review your OC! I'll add your character in the next chapter.

-Ananimous


	5. I'm screwed figuratively of course

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games. If I did Rue would have won and Prim would still be alive.

Clover's thoughts are italicized and when she is writing it looks like this.

The moment I stepped off of the carriage I was pushed into an elevator and we went deep underground. The doors opened and I was pushed out, Hawthorn fell out right after me. "Well weren't they nice." He said. I sighed, he got the hint and gave me the notepad.

Thank you Caption Sarcasm

"I'm going to change out of this ridiculous outfit. You should too."

I turned on my heel and walked to my room. When I got there my clothes were lying on my bed. The same shirt and pats combo. I washed the make up from my face and got changed. Then I went back into the room that I first walked into. Hawthorn was already there talking to our mentor.

"Tomorrow try and befriend the tributes from district two, this year they are the ones who hold the most potential," she stopped talking as soon as I came into the room. _That little witch! She's already pick a favorite. _"Clover you look pale maybe you should get some sleep before tomorrow." she said.

Like I would want to spend any amount of time with you

I stormed out of the room

"I'll go get her," I heard Hawthorn say. I heard his foot steps follow me to the corridor between our rooms. "She doesn't mean that."

Her advise to get you to join the careers isn't what obsets me. Its the fact that shes already chosen a favorite without seeing my fighting skill.

"She hasn't chosen a favorite."

Are you blind! Yes she has

"Favorites can change."

I'm not going to make it out of this

I opened the door to my room and locked it behind me before he could answer.

The next morning

Breakfast passed in complete silence. Not a sound. _Well today is going to be interesting. I wonder who is going to figure out that I can't talk first. _

"Um... Clover?" I glare at Hawthorn. "Its time."

I pick up the note pad and write

What are we waiting for?

"You to wake up." Our mentor says.

Who asked you? Do you make it your purpose to eavesdrop on all of my conversations?

She looked like she was going to kill me, but then she put a smile on and turned away from Hawthorn and I.

_Great. Clover you're an idiot_

A/N Firstly this hasn't been edited so I apologize for any spelling errors I'm sorry! I know that this contradicts what I said last time but I HAD to update this story because I haven't in a while. I thought that the training should be lumped all in one chapter so that's coming up next. Stay tuned!

-Ananimous


	6. Chapter 6 Training day one

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games. If I did Rue would have won and Prim would still be alive.

Thoughts are Italicized

I didn't know what to think of the training room. It looked like there were stations. Some stations had targets, obstacle courses, while others looked more like small class rooms. I made a bee line for the thing that was most familiar to me. Herbs. I noticed another girl already there. Her back was towards me but I knew that she was a girl because of her long cascading silver curls. Also the yellow ribbon holding her hair out of her eyes was another dead give away. She was looking at a diagram of a leaf. I recognized its leaves :Jewelweed. The man that was talking to her was saying all of these useless facts about the plant. I took out the paper and pencil.

All you need to know about Jewelweed is that it helps with poison ivy

I showed her the piece of paper and ignored the man's glare.

"Are you Clover?" the girl asked. I nodded. She held out her hand, "Scarlet but you can call me Lottie." I shook her hand.

Why do you want to know about herbs? Everyone else doesn't seem to want to

"Well there might not be any edible animals and I don't want to resort to cannibalism," she laughed. "Lottie come over here!" a boy called as he ran up. I saw Lottie roll her eyes. The boy started to flirt with her so I zoned them out. When I bothered to listen it was five minutes later and he was still flattering her. _Whats wrong with him? Can't he see that she isn't paying him any attention? _

I walked to another station. This one was abandoned. It turned out to have a lesson on how to throw poison darts. It was interesting and I turned out to be pretty good at it.

"Clover I finally got rid of him." A voice said from behind me.

You mean he JUST left you alone?

"Ya can you imagine what I have to go through!" Lottie said, "Oh can I join you?"

I can't really stop you can I?

"Not really," she picked up one of the darts that I made and threw it into the center of the target that I'd been trying to hit.

How did?… what?…can you teach me?

"I'd love to!" she sounded excited. I groaned inwardly.

A gong ran out signaling that it was time for lunch. Lottie dragged me to an empty table after filling our trays and started chatting away not really caring who was listening (which was a good thing because a lot of people were staring at her). Hawthorn came towards our table and Lottie looked up, smiled, and waved him over. He sat down and motioned for a boy to sit next to him. The boy was young. 13 maybe he looked scared. I looked around noting that there seemed to be a lot of young tributes this year. "Hi," said Hawthorn "I'm Hawthorn from district 11. Whats your name and district?" I gave him a look. "What? I think we all should introduce ourselves." I started writing. "I'm Lottie, from district seven." "J. Jared from ." The boy stammered.

Clover also from eleven

" And I'm Davis from district 2. Hey Lottie ,we saw you throwing darts and we want you to sit with us." He didn't pay the rest of us any attention. He stood up and held out his hand. _Wow conceited much? _

"Sorry," we all stared at Lottie "but I'll pass." Davis's face turned red and he stormed off.

You just signed your death sentence Lottie

A/N I hope you all like the chapter. Also please review I begging for feed back from anyone. Don't be shy even if its something like keep writing. I don't care just review. One last thing I'm leaving on the 22 so I may not write anything for a bit or It may be inconsistent this is a heads up though.

-Ananimous


	7. Chapter 7 Before the Interview

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games. If I did Rue would have won and Prim would still be alive.

Thoughts are Italicized

The next day went relatively the same way. Lottie was cheerful as usual, Hawthorn got on my nerves, Jared stuttered, and the careers kept glaring at Lottie, not that she cared. Tonight was the dreaded interviews. Apparently my mentor talked to the host and told him about my predicament so the agreement was that I would write something down and this other person would read it for the whole world to hear.

I spent half of the day with the designer. He tried to get me to walk in heels for an hour then decided that I was a lost cause and gave me a pair of flats. He fitted me in a sleek green dress to match my emerald eyes. Next he took me and did my hair and make up. It was only 12:00 when he was done so he wiped off all of the make up. _What was the point of putting on all of that make up, taking it off only to reapply it in a few hours? _

I skipped lunch, I wasn't hungry, and walked into a small room, a broom closet. It was dusty and looked like it was forgotten. I started to look around, the normal things were there, brooms, feather dusters, other miscellaneous pieces of cleaning supplies, but there! On the floor was a piece of paper hidden in the floor boards.

Dear fellow tribute,

I'm sorry that you're in this position. Its terrifying, I know. I'm not sure that I'll survive the blood bath. I hope that I won't. I never wanted to kill anyone, even the thought is appalling. Why would anyone want to be a tribute? If I'm to die I want my story told.

I come from a small, poor family in District 11. There I was happy, I was sixteen when I was reaped (today is my birthday). The people around me had a mixture of pain and grief on their faces. I can still see my boyfriends face, he was sobbing. My dad, he looked like he'd been shot, his face got all white and he clutched at his heart.

I'm afraid that I can't write much more, because they'll notice my absence. I know I'm being watched, the peace keepers in district 11 must have said something because I'm being followed everywhere.

The games start tomorrow. If you read this, good luck on surviving. It's all over for me. I'm not strong but I pray and hope that you are.

Farewell,

Sarah Conway

I put the note down. I remember the Conways. Sarah was wrong she lasted until the final four and then was brutally killed by that year's winner. Her entire family committed suicide when they saw it.

There was a knock on the door I jumped and hit my head on the ceiling. My vision was fuzzy, so when I felt a calloused hand on my arm, it was only natural that I lashed out. I ended up punching an unknown figure in the face. The hand left my arm, I felt this sharp pain on the hand that I punched with. A liquid seeped from my hand and I knew in that instant that my knuckles were split and bleeding.


	8. Chapter 8 Hawthorn's Interview

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games. If I did Rue would have won and Prim would still be alive.

Thoughts are Italicized

One hour before the interview:

I sighed again. I was being pickled with a different assortment of face creams. My eyebrows had been plucked, the freckles surrounding my nose were covered up so that my entire face was a horrid, ugly, murky brown. Throughout my cosmetic torture a man jabbered at me saying "You shouldn't be nervous." and "You should just be yourself."

_Hypocrite, you tell me to be myself as you cover me up with products so you can turn me into a pretty face, no, a porcelain doll. You're going to put me on display so the whole capital can look at me and feel pity. You poor idiotic lump of a creature. Your wasting your time._

When he had finished with me, I suppose that the figure in the mirror would have made other girls feel beautiful. Not me, I was disgusted. The person in the mirror wasn't me. I put on the green dress and zoned out as the designer came in.

Next thing I knew I was pushed into an elevator and was lifted upwards. When the elevator stopped I was pushed into the wings of a theater. All of the other tributes were there socializing. Lottie spotted me and waved. Its a marvel that she could see at all from the throng of lovesick boys surrounding her.

"Line up by district. Boys on the left, girls on the right." called a voice. I was pushed towards my spot next to Hawthorn.

"You're late," he whispered, "Lottie gave me a message for you. I'll give it to you later." A man came up to us and arranged us so we were standing arm in arm so that Hawthorn could lead me onto the stage. Then we started walking slowly so that the other tributes could be showered with applause. Before Hawthorn and I could get on stage a notepad and pencil were shoved into my free hand. The audience cheered as Hawthorn guided me to my seat, a fancy version of a folding chair. The host entered and so I just stopped paying attention again. Hawthorn nudged me back into awareness as Lottie got onto the stage. Her interview went very well. It turns out that she was a heart throb in her district. After she returned to her seat I zoned out another time. Again Hawthorn nudged me again.

Hawthorn walked up to the host and sat next to him.

"So Hawthorn, how do you like the capital?" the host asked.

"Its charming!" Hawthorn flashed a smile, a girl in the audience fainted. This prompted another question.

"Are you a lady's man back in your district?"

"That's for the girls to decide."

"Don't be modest."

"I'm not its lady's choice." More girls screamed. _Wow he's working the crowd just as much as Lottie did._

"Do you enjoy working with Clover?"

"Clover is amazing, and she always has been amazing."

"I take it that you know her."

"Ya, shes one of the best friends that I've ever had. She's compassionate but she always speaks... writes whats on her mind."

"Has she always been mute?"

"I don't know, she has been for as long as I can remember."

"So you're saying that she could talk if she wanted to?"

"I can't tell you that. You'd have to ask her that."

"Speaking of Clover how about we invite her up here?" This got a cheer from the audience. I stood up, found that my legs were shaking, and walked over to Hawthorn.

"Seeing as Clover is mute she has devised a way for her to communicate. She writes things down on this piece of paper. Hawthorn since you two are so close would you mind reading what she says aloud?"

"Not at all."

A/N:

Sorry about the cliff hanger. I wanted to add suspense. Just a reminder, Hawthorn and Clover have never met before the Reaping so Hawthorn was making it all up. I hope that everyone has had a good break.

-Ananimous

ps Thanks to Rebecca for reviewing! :D


	9. Chapter 9 the last night

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games. If I did Rue would have won and Prim would still be alive.

Thoughts are italicized

Chapter 9 Last night before the world ends

The host smiled at me trying to get me to relax, "So Clover you're thirteen, am I correct?" I nodded. "How long have you been mute?" _Wow right to the point_

Why is that important?I showed Hawthorn my paper

"For as long as I can remember." he said like he was reading.

"Does it have something to do with you being an orphan?" the host asked, clearly wanting to poke into my personal life.

No it has to do with your twisted games

"After their deaths I found that I couldn't talk." I was catching on to what was going on. I was supposed be the face of some poor girl who's parents abandoned her and she was tragically scared for life and unable to speak of her pain to anyone else. _Sorry mentor, but that heartbroken girl__ isn't me._

"How did you and Hawthorn meet?" the host leaned forward.

Um...(Hawthorn make this one up I don't know)

"Oh... uh...I saved her from some bullies who tried to make her talk." he said.

Good save

"Well what did the girl say?" the host looked a little disappointed.

"She wanted to mention that she was pretty beat up when I got to her," Hawthore lied. I glared at Hawthorn threatening but he continued, "but that she had knocked four of the boys out."

"How old were you when this happened?"

"Um... I think we were eight." Hawthorn was going to start sweating. _He really isn't a good lair._

"I know everyone here would like to hear this thrilling story but we have two more tributes to interview, (the audience moaned). It was a pleasure talking with both of you." Hawthorn led me to my seat.

Back in my room after the interviews were all over

Knock! Knock! I opened the door and Hawthorn rushed in and closed the door behind him. He ignore my glare.

Why did you improvise your own words?

"I was trying to get you some sponsors. "

We both know that you'll get all the sponsors. Our mentor obviously likes you better.

"What If I die? What then Clover? Who'll send you necessities?"

You wont die, you have a family to get back to. I don't have anyone.

"Do you want to see what Lottie said or not?" I nodded and he handed me the slip of paper.

Dear Clover,

If you survive the blood bath come looking for all of us. If you hear any person coming after you, just whisper the word"Promises" and if its one of us you'll hear "are meant to be kept." that's how you'll how you know that the advancing person is a friend. If they fail to reply... well you know what to do. I hope that we will meet again. If not, then you should know that you deserve to win this thing and that I have faith in you. I know that Davis will be looking for me.

Stay alert and survive,

Scarlet(Lottie)

I nodded at Hawthorn in thanks and he silently left my room. The last thing that I thought before I fell asleep was _my world is going to end tomorrow__ morning._

A/N I know that I missed the scoring part of training but I thought that in the end it was kinda pointless.

Please review the games are starting so this is the last chance to submit a tribute!

-Ananimous


	10. Chapter 10 Start

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games. If I did Rue would have won and Prim would still be alive.

Thoughts are italicized

Chapter 10: Start

Breakfast was silent. The butterflies in my stomach made it nearly impossible for me to eat what was most likely the last good meal of my life. _Calm down stomach! I need my strength. _ I managed to choke down a cup of tea and an entire grapefruit. Hawthorn was watching the clock and getting paler every minute.

"Its time." When the Mentor whispered those to words I nearly threw up. We were shoved into different elevators and transported upwards. Then I was blindfolded and stuck in a helicopter. I panicked. _What's going on? Who's hand is on my shoulder?_

"Stop struggling!" a voice whispered with urgency. It sounded like the designer. "I made a special plea for you. Everyone else has been told by their pilot what's going on but they cant take your blindfold off so you can't talk or write. We're going to the arena. It won't take long. We're nearing it now. We'll land in two minutes." His voice calmed me. It seemed like at least one person cared about me.

The helicopter landed and The designer's hand took mine and led me towards what I could guess was a building. He took me into another elevator and I felt it move downwards. The designer pulled my blindfold off. When the elevator stopped I was led into a room. It was very bland, containing two chairs and an elevator shoot. The designer looked at his watch and said, "Well in you go." I stepped into the shoot and started to panic. _I don't want to be in here! I don't want to die! _"I believe in you Clover, don't forget that." the designer said in response to my looking around panicking. Just as the words left his mouth the elevator started to rise carrying me with it. _Here goes nothing _ I set my mouth into a grim line.

The scene that I saw when my head rose above the ground was confusing. There were these giant green, fuzzy looking trees that had sharp short branches coming out of them. The trees reached so far to the sky that only if you looked far and hard enough would you notice that the sky was an orange red color. The trees were everywhere. I saw Lottie rising directly across from me. Hawthorn emerged by my side. Their eyes trained on the jack pot of weapons and packs leaning up aganst one tree in the center of our circle.

A gong went off and I sprinted towards the nearest pack, grabbed it and turned around when I heard a twig snap behind me. I barely managed to sidestepped a knife a strange girl brought down towards by shoulder. I used the momentum of my sidestep to flee the circle. As I was about to duck behind the nearest tree I heard a shout and saw Jared running towards me with a short sword. Davis was right behind him longsword poised. Right as Davis swung at Jared's neck Jared threw the sword. It flew towards me and landed at my feet. I picked it up and turned to see Jared's head roll. A triumphant smile still on his lips.

I ran away from the other tributes, Jared's sacrifice still playing in my mind. As soon as I got a reasonable distance from the others, I threw up. _Get a grip more will die deal with it! _My mind shouted. I picked up Jared's sword and wrote the word, "promises" on the nearest tree with an arrow going the direction I was taking. I had thought of doing this last night because Lottie forgot about my being mute. Then a little while later I found a clump of bushes and in front of them I rewrote the word only this time with a X on the ground. I hid and waited.

Shortly a boy came he grinned when he saw the writing on the floor. "Come on out Clover!" He turned and I saw that it wasn't Hawthorn but someone else, maybe from district three. _I'm going to hate myself for this later _ I was about to lunge when a dagger sprouted from his chest. "Are meant to be kept." A voice whispered. I was overjoyed when a figure stepped out of the shadows. It was covered by a dark muck colored cloak. The only identifying feature was a silver curl sticking out of the hood.

A/N: Sorry about not posting last week but I wanted the chapters setting to be clear and concise.

Thanks to ReadyMadePhotographer for reviewing. I hope this answered your question and A special shout out to Raenia Foxglove. As Always Read and review!

-Ananimous


	11. Chapter 11: Words!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games. If I did Rue would have won and Prim would still be alive. Thoughts are Italicized

Chapter 11: Words

I ran from my hiding spot and embraced Lottie. She smiled down at me. "Clover I'm so happy you're alright! I was so worried after I realized that you couldn't whisper the word, I'm so sorry I forgot." I made a motion as if to say "never mind". We started walking away from the body so the capital could collect it. _Thats odd. A cannon hasn't gone off. _I turned around to look at the boy only to find him limping slowly away from us. I tugged on Lottie's cloak to get her attention. She whirled around and swiftly drew a dagger from a stash concealed with in her cloak. As she threw the deadly projectile time slowed. I saw the dagger spin in five circles, light gleaming off of its boy turned as he heard the whine the dagger made as it sliced threw the air. His face froze in shock. The dagger embedded itself in his forehead. He slumped and fell backwards. Lottie ran forward and retrieved both of her daggers and walked back to me. I saw the tracks that tears left on her cheeks.

We walked for a while, Lottie silently crying for the boy that she killed. I tugged on her cloak again. She jumped and looked around for any sign of an attack, I tugged again. She looked at me and I motioned to her cloak and raised me shoulders. "I found it in my pack. Have you even looked through yours?" I shook my head no. "Well go on then." I sat on the ground and untied the drawstring. Inside there was: a sleeping mat, a large can that read Ant Repellent , a bowl, a serrated knife, four throwing daggers(which I gave to Lottie), and a flower petal.

"Wow, you scored big Clover!" gasped Lottie, "all I got was the repellent, and this cloak, the daggers I got from a poor dead girl." Just then we heard some rustling from the tree behind us. Lottie drew a dagger, and I lifted Jared's sword. "Wait! Wait! Promises!… Don't hit me, please." The voice pleaded. We lowered our weapons and Hawthorn stepped from behind the tree. Just as we saw him the sun disappeared, it was as if someone had turned off a switch. "That isn't natural." Commented Lottie. I opened my pack and pulled out the mat. "I'll take first shift, Hawthorn you can take second, and Clover can finish up the night." I nodded and lay down.

"LOTTIE! CLOVER! WAKE UP!" Hawthorns voice shouted. I bolted up and reached for the sword next to me. I picked it up and rushed to the nearest tree putting my back to it. I turned to face our campsite. What I saw made my skin crawl. Lottie was fighting two careers and Hawthorn had his back up another tree fighting off four opponents. I rushed towards him but was blocked by Lottie who had managed to kill her attackers. She grabbed my hand and pulled me away from Hawthorn. I opened my mouth to scream, my vow of silence temporally forgotten. "H… Haw…" my voice cracked as I uttered the first letters of his name. Just as Lottie dragged me out of sight,I managed a broken "…THORN!"

A/N : Yes Clover just said her first word! I hope the fight scenes in this chapter are better because I know the one in the last chapter was terrible. Thanks to both ReadyMadePhotographer and Raenia Foxglove. Please R&R.


	12. Chapter 12: Plan

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games. If I did Rue would have won and Prim would still be alive.

Thoughts are Italicized

Chapter 12: Plan

Lottie and I sat in silence, our backs resting against a tree. I looked down at my feet, disappointed that I had broken my vow of silence. I had broken it for what? A boy! "Don't worry," I looked up at Lottie quizzically. "Davis wants me dead, Hawthorn is their only hope of getting to me. So they won't kill him yet," she explained in monotone. "W…" my voice broke, I tried again. "Why?"I asked. "Because they think Hawthorn knows where we are right now."

"How could he possibly know that?" Lottie wasn't making sense.

"Have you heard the cannon?" Everything suddenly clicked into place. They were going to try to get information out of Hawthorn using any means necessary. Once they figured out that Hawthorn knew nothing they would make him suffer.

"What are we gonna do?" I felt terrible, my mind started creating scenarios of the torturer he was going through at this moment. Fingers cut viciously off, toenails pulled, black eyes, broken ribs, ant repellent sprayed in his eyes.

"We can't leave him there. Plus I feel responsible for what's happening to him." Lottie started pacing.

"We can't barge in there, it's a career nest. We'll get killed. We need a plan." Lottie stared at Jared's sword, slowly a small smile spread across her face.

"Clover, how well can you use that?" she pointed at the sword.

"Not very well. Jared gave it to me before he died," came my answer, Lottie grinned.

"Come here, I'll teach you." I stood up and walked towards her. As it turns out Lottie is a fantastic swords woman. She put me through the motions, parry, thrust, parry, thrust, this continued for hours. Then we spared, she kept me away with her daggers. Metal clanged, as sweat dripped in streams down the sides of our heads. Lottie tried her hardest not to hurt me in any way but I still got a few cut and at least 20 bruises.

"Break?" I panted, Jared's sword was heavy. My arms were visibly shaking.

"Sure." We both leaned on trees, I looked up at the odd colored sky, and gasped there was a watery pattern in the sky, Almost as if rain was splashing on the sky. _That does make any sense_. I felt my shirt dampen as cool water trickled down the trees and down my back. I turned around and stared at the trees watching the flow of water, my eyes followed the small stream upwards to the sky. I gasped as the sky color reminded me of something.

"What is it Clover?" Lottie asked. I searched through my pack for the petal. The petal was the exact same red-orange as the sky, there had to be some connection, why would they put the petal in my pack if there weren't. Acting on impulse alone I touched the petal to the water coming down the tree trunk. Once the petal came in contact with water it grew and curved, almost like magic, forming a bowl shape. The water filled the petal as it grew.

"Clover! What did you do?" I looked at Lottie. _That was an idiotic question_.

" Made a bowl, now we know what the petal is for, and we have fresh water to drink." I pictured her surprised face as I raised the petal to my lips and chugged the cool water down. I refilled the bowl and handed it to Lottie.

"What are going to do about Hawthorn?" I asked as Lottie drank.

"Rescue him of course." She stated rather matter-of-factly.

"How do we do that?"

"We take out their sentry, cut him loose, you help him escape while I fight them off." Lottie was going to sacrifice her self. _Not on my watch._

"No! Shouldn't I stay behind, You'll die." I got a sinking feeling in my stomach.

"You can't fight as well as me, besides he wouldn't forgive me or himself if you died." I raised an eyebrow at her, was she trying to be cryptic?.

"And why would he feel guilty?" I challenged.

"Get some rest we have to find the careers and conduct the rescue mission at night fall."

"Oh no you don't. I'm taking first watch." I placed my hands on my hips.

"I'm older then you." She said.

"How do you know? We've never talked about our ages!" I protested.

"I'm fifteen, and you're thirteen." I gaped at her.

"And how would you know that?" I questioned.

"Hawthorn. He knows quite a bit about you."

"That's beside the point." I stifled a yawn, it had been a tiring day.

"Just go to bed. And respect your elders." I stuck my tongue out but complied anyway.

A/N: I'm really sorry for not updating last week. My computer decided to erase all the files with the plot on them. Anyway thank you for reviewing everyone, maybe by next week there could be at least 15 reviews. (hint, hint)

-Ananimou


	13. Chapter 13:Walking into trees

Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games. If I did Rue would have won and Prim would still be alive. Thoughts are italicized

Chapter 13: Walking into trees

Apparently no one died today because I didn't hear any cannons. Besides Lottie would've woken me up for any announcements. She woke me up half-way through the night rubbing her eyes saying that it was time. I nodded and pulled Jared's sword from under my make shift pillow, my pack. Lottie tugged on her cloak; she was almost entirely concealed beneath its dark fabric. Suddenly I felt conscious of the white shirt that glowed in the darkness. Lottie glanced at me, sighed, took off her cloak, and handed it to me.

"I don't want it," I whispered

"You were shivering," she lied.

"Was not," I was starting to get angry.

"Shut up." THUMP. Lottie had started walking and when she turned her head to talk to me she ran into a tree. I stifled a giggle behind my hand. Lottie glared at me and stepped around the tree and continued walking in the same direction.

"Lottie you're going the wrong way," I pointed out. She flushed with embarrassment, "Why don't you just lead us then?" I started walking; we hadn't gone more than fifty feet when I heard another THUMP! I turned around to see Lottie sitting on the ground with a dazed expression on her face.

"Why do you keep doing that?" I asked.

"I heard something," She declared.

"Next time you hear something" stop walking," I suggested. Lottie saluted me "Yes Mam,"

The rest of our "stealthy" walk, turned out to be boring. The tension built up the closer we came to our old camp. Lottie thankfully got over her paranoia and stopped running into trees. I was starting to sweat, I felt as if the world was resting on my shoulders, I had to save Hawthorn and make sure Lottie came back alive, they both had families and I didn't. They should have more of a chance surviving this then me. Lottie grabbed my shoulder, I stopped and faced her, and she nodded at me and pointed. There was a small fire where our camp used to be. I smiled; _wow they were stupid enough to use our old camp site? I never thought they would be that dumb, unless t__hey were waiting for us, meaning that they know we'll come for Hawthorn, that's why they haven't killed him yet! They want us to try and rescue him, __they__ want Lottie!_

My thoughts raced wildly around in my head. Lottie sunk forward. Just then a shout rang out. Lottie was grabbed from behind by a dark hand she whirled around only to get punched in the face.

A/N: Seeing as this wasn't edited I decided to make this better. Sorry, the next chapter is gonna be great. I've also hit a bit of trouble because I don't really know how to continue. Anyone who has an idea review! I need help. (Ubi?) -Ananimous


	14. Chapter 14: She can't be gone!

Disclaimer, I don't own the Hunger Games. If I did Finnick would have a longer death scene because he deserves it. Not the short death that he gets.

Previously:

My thoughts raced wildly around in my head. Lottie sunk forward. Just then a shout rang out. Lottie was grabbed from behind by a dark hand she whirled around only to get punched in the face.

Hawthorns body felt limp behind mine as I dragged him away from the blood. My head seemed to be in complete shut down. My ears registered the sound of Hawthorn's hand on the ground, but there was no response to it. I had no idea where I was walking. _Just keep Hawthorn away from the careers. Lottie would have wanted that. Lottie… _I fought the tears, I couldn't let them obstruct my vision.

A surge of memories came into my mind, broken pictures of Lottie before and after, of Hawthorn hung by his hands to a tree, so that his wrists dislocated along with his shoulders, and arms. The fire dancing in Dave's eyes as he looked down at Lottie. Her bleeding lip, and broken body, still defying the careers, allowing me to escape with Hawthorn. It was the first time that I heard someone had laughed after a kill. _No! Stop thinking about it, you have to save Hawthorn. _

My steps quickened as my second wind set in. Suddenly, I stopped. The sky was lightening and I found myself in front of the most fortified hideout that I could have ever hoped for. There was a tree behind a semi-circle of dense bushes. Also There was an old track made by some animal. So I guessed that a den must be in the bushes, somewhere. I let go of Hawthorn, and crawled under the bushes. I was right there was a den! It even had a well made roof. And once Hawthorn woke up we could climb the tree. Hawthorn. I pulled him into the den and tried to set his arms back into place.

After a while they didn't look so a-symmetrical. I felt his forehead with my hand, he didn't have a fever. Then I let the memories of last night come crashing back. Lottie…_I can't do this. _I thought, _I need her! I'm only 13 I shouldn't be taking care of Hawthorn._ I let hopelessness over take me, the tears came and I didn't try to stop them. I cried myself to sleep. Effectively missing Lottie's face as it lit the night sky.

A/N: I know it was short I'm sorry. Anyway If you have questions or just want to say something about my writing style, have any criticisms, please feel free to review


	15. Chapter 15: What happened

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games. If I did Finnick would've gotten the death scene he deserved.

I let hopelessness over take me, the tears came and I didn't try to stop them. I cried myself to sleep. Effectively missing Lottie's face as it lit the night sky.

Flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lottie was grabbed from behind by a dark hand, She whirled about only to get punched in the face. The force of the punch sent her to the dirt in a daze.

"Ha ha! Look everyone! She walked right into our trap! How dumb is she?" The disembodied voice sounded like Davis. I cringed, _is he their leader? _I crept the circumference of their camp, always staying within the tree line. The tree where Hawthorn was strung was just ahead of me. Lottie struggled to her feet, she was surrounded by the careers.

Following the plan she bolted through their circle. She would lead them as far away from me as possible then. _Imbeciles! How did you survive this long? Are you so arrogant that you can't even leave a guard? _

Thankfully the tree that Hawthorn was strapped to was easy to climb up. Branches stuck out everywhere. Finding a branch at the same height as Hawthorn's hands was fairly simple and getting up to that branch was a slice of cake. I shook his shoulders, he blinked but it was obvious that something was wrong with his eyes.

"Hawthorn! Don't worry it's me. Clover!" I whispered, "I'm going to cut your hands free."

"Clover? You can talk? Where are you" the only answer he got was the sound of Jared's sword cutting the constrictive ropes. He gasped as his frail body hit the ground.

"How badly are your hurt? Can you walk?" I asked.

"I don't think so." He answered truthfully, as he tried to stand his left leg buckled.

"I'm going to drag you by the hand. I'm sorry but you will black out from the pain." I stated.

"H…How do you know?" Fear, evident in his voice.

"Don't ask stupid questions." I grasped his hand, squeezed it in what I hoped felt like reassurance, and started dragging. His hand went limp immediately.

I dragged him to the safe spot. Lottie and my old camp site, something was wrong. Lottie should have been back before now. As if on cue a faint scream erupted from far off in the forest. Pulling out the sword I ran blindly to where the sound was coming from, the shrieks got louder as I approached. There was a group of careers in a semi-circle around her. Watching Davis walk forward, stoop, and raise her kicking and screaming obscenities into the air. He lifted her by the throat, an impressive feat.

I turned my back. If I rushed in there I would die too, but if I stayed here she would die. Lottie I'm so sorryI felt a hot wet, dripping slowly off my chin. I don't know when I started crying only that I couldn't stop the tears. I felt rather then heard Davis' victorious laugh as a cannon sounded. I waited for ten minutes. Then Peaked around the corner at the corpse.

This dead… thing wasn't Lottie. Not wasn't, couldn't be my friend. She laughed, and smiled, she didn't have blood oozing out of the corner of her mouth.

A/N: I've noticed that no one has read the last chapter. Please do so! On another note I saw the movie yesterday. There are some scenes that are done very well, others were... Anyway please read and review!


	16. Chapter 16: Mental Demons

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games, if I did Finnick would at least get the long death scene that he deserves. All of Clover's thoughts are Italicized.

Chapter 16: In Which a mental Demon Appears.

It would take days for Hawthorn to return to normal physically. Psychologically the trauma would take a life time to recover, no thanks to the torture. A groan snapped me out of my thoughts, he was a wake.

"Clover?" he asked.

"I'm right here," I moved into his line of sight.

"You can talk! I always knew you could," A small smile passed over his lips, replaced by a pained expression, "damage report."

"Your arms and shoulders have been dislocated, I did my best to pop them back in place, numerous cuts across your chest but none of them are any cause for concern. Your left leg is bruised but not broken. How did you get away with so little injuries?" I refrained from telling him about his eyes.

"Clover? Why can't I see your face?" He sounded panicked.

"You answer my question and I'll answer yours," I bargained.

"That should have been included in your damage report," he chuckled. D_amage report isn't a question. _

"I pretended to faint, they didn't want hurt me when I was unconscious, the careers this year are really dumb. You could win this thing." _I'm not going to, I have no one to go back to. _

"Take it easy Hawthorn, get more rest. I'll keep watch, you have to get better quick because we need to get in the trees," I hated playing doctor, Hawthorn never seemed weak during training, but now. He couldn't possibly appear more helpless. _You could always leave him._ _A voice_ in my head whispered, _your chances of survival are greater with out him. He's just an unnecessary weight, he'll hold you back. _I gripped my ears trying to drown out the poisonous voice. _ No! He protected me and Lottie! Endured torture for us, now it's my turn to protect him! My turn!_ The voice laughed, _if you say so, but one day you'll regret this choice. _I hated this lying, evil voice. I will n_ever regret this! _

I glanced at the sleeping Hawthorn, he needs me. That much is clear, how badly is yet to be determined. Lottie would have known what to do. Lottie, a tear fell from my eye. _No tears, she didn't want me to cry for her. _ A hand covered mine. I looked back at Hawthorn, he was still asleep, but that didn't make his hand any less comforting. Even in his sleep he knew how to help me. The feeling of loss slowly left, this time I didn't feel empty. _Lottie _ I thought _I still need you. _

A/N: Thank you to Abby333, I know that Lottie's death was sad but it was necessary, at least she went protecting those that she cared about. K() I'm know how Anonymous should be spelled but the way I spelled it is a pun. My nickname is hidden in the word, the other misspelling I blame on spell check's incompetence. Please excuse my ignorance of spelling rules. Thank you all for the complements, I couldn't wish for better reviewers!

One more review! Please! I want to reach 15 reviews! (hint hint, wink)

-Ananimous


	17. Chapter 17: Better

I still don't own the hunger games. Thoughts are Italicized.

Chapter 17: Better

It took Hawthorn a day and a half to regain his eyes sight, it turns out that rest helped more then any medicine would have. We moved our hide out to the tree. My nights were filled with worry, that Hawthorn would fall off in his sleep. He moved around a lot. We had a rope connecting us to the tree, it was in a pack Hawthorn managed to pick up. _The voice in my head was wrong, I have a much better chance of survival with him here. _ It was true Hawthorn was a true hunter, today he managed to make a spear, and get a squirrel for me to cook.

His arms had healed quickly, it appeared that I set them right the first time. As I sat by the fire watching the meat cook, I wondered how many had died. More like how many had to die still. I missed a lot of the death count.

"How many are left?" I voiced my question.

"Seven, you, me, three careers, Davis, and the girl from Jared's district."Hawthorn answered.

"He never did say where he was from." I mused.

"6," Hawthorn whispered, "he was from 6, he was a person," Hawthorn looked like he was going to cry while he continued talking, "not just some dead carcass in a coffin being sent home now!"

"He showed that he was," Hawthorn looked at me in surprise so I explained , "He gave me this sword, took it from Davis and thew it at my feet."

"He said he was going to show them that he was a hero." Hawthorn shook his head at the memory.

BOOM! A cannon fired loudly.

"It looks like it's just us and the careers now." I said. All the murder was getting to me. I was paranoid, every stick snapping meant an enemy approaching, every rustling leaf was a scout, finding us.

"You won't know till tonight." He tried to console me.

"I don't watch the sky." I stated.

"Why not."

"It hurts, in here," I pointed at my heart.

A/N:I know this is a short chapter but I promise action in the next one (rubbing hands together maliciously). Thanks for the reviews! I really love my readers (aka all of you!) thank you for being fantastic! Criticism and complements are greatly appreciated in the form of reviews


	18. Chapter 18: Is it Over?

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games

Chapter 18: Is it over?

I guess I should have expected this, his…their…blood on my hands both literally and figuratively.

(v)(v)(v)(v)(v)Flashback(v)(v)(v)(v)(v)

His scream tore through my nightmare. My eyes stayed shut hoping that the scream was only part of the dream. It wasn't. Four voices were taunting from bellow, insulting Hawthorn's mother. It was as dark with my eyes open as it was with them shut. I didn't know which was worse, the subconscious nightmare or the one I was to become a unwilling part of.

"Hawthorn who's there? What's wrong?" I whispered, my body staying still keeping some level of surprise on my side.

He didn't look at me, "They are. I escaped the torture from the Careers and now they are here to finish what they started."

"District 11, we can see your lips moving. Who else is up there?" asked Davis.

"Don't answer them,"I warned. Instead of replying I undid the rope connecting me to the tree. _Those idiots! The torches make them easy targets._ I silently pulled out one of Lottie's daggers. _Please let me throw it straight_. **THUNK! **Followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground.

**BOOM!**

"What?…How?…She's dead," One of the Careers said his voice laden with wonder.

"That (String of obscenities)! He's going to pay!" Davis choked out. Davis obviously could not control his emotions. Thinking this was our moment to get away, I shoved the rope into my pack and started climbing down the opposite end of the tree.

"Oh no you don't!" said a voice directly below me. _You stupid girl! There were four of them! Hawthorn said so!_

"Back up!," I screamed. Hawthorn nodded and scrambled back up the tree.

"Davis, he's got the girl with him!" The boy shouted from behind me.

"Hey, CLOVER!" Shouted Davis, a sadistic grin across his face.

"Leave her alone!" Hawthorn growled. Under different circumstances, I would have punched Hawthorn for defending me, but not this time.

"Davis remember Lottie?" said the boy from behind the tree "She was so pitiful, she cried when we broke her legs."

"No," Davis looked at me startled to hear me speak. H_e doesn't know you can talk _I reminded myself."No she didn't, I was_ there." _I took advantage of his surprise and jumped down from the tree onto his chest, knocking him to the ground. The sword was still in my pack,completely useless, so I used my fists. The crack coming from his nose, now broken, was the first indication that I should probably stop punching him and watch out for his friend.

**BOOM! BOOM!**

_ Hawthorn! _I looked around panicked. I didn't see Davis's fist until it connected with my cheek, the force of the impact propelling me off of him. My back ached, and my cheek was already swelling.

"Clover!" it was Hawthorn, he was rushing to me, "Clover we have to go now!" Davis tackled Hawthorn pinning him to the ground, letting his blood drip onto Hawthorn's face. I hated seeing Hawthorn under that menace and reacted before thinking. Quickly I dropped my pack and pulled the sword from inside. When I turned back from my pack I saw Hawthorn wrapping his arms around Davis's body, crushing it to his own.

"Clover! You have to run us both through!" Hawthorn croaked. I nearly dropped the sword in surprise.

"What? Why?" I asked in disbelief. Davis started squirming trying to get away before I could end his life.

"You have to end this now, I'm… I'm dieing!" Hawthorn pointed to the growing red stain on his stomach, "The boy I killed, he had a knife. I killed one of them but I wasn't quick enough to get the other one before he stabbed 's dead now but… Clover you can't let him win! You hear me?… Clover!…For Lottie!" His voice hitched as Davis managed to punch his wound.

"For Lottie?" I repeated softly at first, then louder, "FOR LOTTIE!" Hawthorn closed his eyes, Davis increased his futile struggles. I lunged, and heard the sickening sound of metal sliding into flesh. Hawthorn opened his eyes.

"What did you do?" he asked shocked to be still alive.

"Lengthened your life."

**BOOM! **Davis's cannon fired.

A/N: Sorry about last week(I forgot about an essay that I got for homework and spent all Sunday working on that). Anyway please Read and Review!


	19. Chapter 19: Waiting

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games

Chapter 19: Waiting

(A/N: Warning this has not been edited)

Waiting. It was the absolute worst part of this entire hellish ordeal. Knowing that Hawthorn was going to die and only being able to stop his pain and slow death. Watching him was equally as bad, he was lying on his side, if I moved him the stab wound would open up more.

"Clover" Hawthorn's voice was already getting weak.

"Ya?" My right hand brushed the tears away from my eye.

"When you get home, tell my mom… tell her that I'm sorry." _I guess this is his last wish._

"You know that she's watching right now," he gave me a look, "Alright! I'll tell her anyway." A silence dropped over us like a blanket, smothering all possibilities of comfort.

"Why?" I asked.

"Why what?" He said.

"Why do people always leave me?" I couldn't keep my tears from him any longer, they poured down my face.

"Can I see you?" His voice was getting raspier with every word. I gently lifted his head into my lap, careful not to move his abdomen. "You can cry, if you want to."

"My parents, Lottie, now you! I don't think I can take this anymore!" I was sobbing now.

"I'm sorry," It was right then that the game makers decided to start a torrential downpour. We sat there, watching the rain wash away the blood from Davis and the other careers, I had moved their bodies away from us so they could get picked up. It ran in little rivers, just like my tear and the rain water did.

"Hey Clover?"

"Stay with me," I started panicking.

"I'm glad that I helped find your voice, don't forget me."

"Never." I promised. He smiled, but his eyes slowly started to close.

**BOOM!**

"No! Don't leave me! Hawthorn!" I clutched his limp body to mine.

A/N: One more chapter. I know this one is really short, I'm sorry. Oh and this story won't have a sequel, it will end next chapter. Thank you to everyone who reviewed and made my day! -Ananimous


	20. Chapter 20: Broken

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games. Thoughts are italicized.

Chapter 20: Broken

The video was terrible, who ever decided that the capital should make the winner watch highlights from their near death experiences, was a nut started with an areal view of the arena. It turns out that the entire thing was a flower pot. The "trees" were the gargantuan stems of pink Asters. The bloodbath and Jared's triumph, Lottie and my reunion, the careers killing spree. The night Hawthorn was left behind, and our rescue attempt. I couldn't watch Lottie's murder again. The last battle and my win.

I saw the interviewer from before approach me. _Can't let them see me cry, _ I thought as I blinked away tears.

"Clover, we all want to congratulate you on this victory!" the audience erupted into applause, "What was the worst part of this whole ordeal?"

"Umm…" I was at a loss for words, "watching my friends die." I wanted to add, _and not being able to do anything about it. _

"Yes we all know how close you and Hawthorn were." He tried to be sympathetic.

"I'm just glad he fulfilled one of his goals."

"And that was?"

"Making me talk." _Duh._

"We are all glad that you are talking now." He turned to my mentor, "What was your strategy going into this years games?" This was my cue to zone out. _I don't care what they're saying, congratulating me for surviving. They've never had to deal with this pain before. Why do I live when so many others died?_ These thoughts kept me busy until my stylist took me by the elbow and led me from the theater filled with screaming fans.

(v)(v)(v)(v)(v)Later that night(v)(v)(v)(v)(v)(v)

I lay on my bed. Trying to sleep, failing miserably. Nightmares of knives, blood, and screams made every shadow an enemy. I wished that someone would come and help me, but it was 2:40 in the morning. Before the games I hadn't talked in protest to the barbaric concept of the games. If I had wanted to talk I would have. But this time, this time it hurt in my heart. I don't know if speech would be a possibility in the morning. I heard a small sliding noise announced that someone had shoved something under my door. I flipped the bedside lamp on and saw a small notebook and pencil by my door.

Dear Clover,

If you're reading this, then Congrats! You've won. Unfortunately I won't be able to tell you this in person, but I was always rooting for you. I'm happy, you deserved to win. Life has not been kind to you, and dying shouldn't be on your to do list for many years. It wasn't on my list either. You've become like a sister to me, I'm sorry that our time together has been so short. I really hope you talk and continue talking, I'm sure your voice is beautiful. Don't let grief overwhelm you. Stay strong and never give up.

Scarlet (Lottie)

A/N: That's it. My first Fan fiction is complete! I want to thank my cousin, for editing the first chapters, and ReadyMadePhotographer for inventing Lottie, I have no idea where this story would be with out Lottie. Thanks to everyone for staying with my inconsistent posting and spelling/grammatical errors. If you liked my story, look up my profile, or review on this.

-Ananimou


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